Tamping machine



Feb. 10, -I 925.

H. BESSER ET AL TAMPING MACHINE Filed av. 2 2 Sheets-Sht 1 Feb. 10,1925.1.525.493

H. BESSER ET AL TAMP ING MACHINE Filed Nov. 28, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J-7 l/YVE/VTORS I v I flermanBes'ser Jesse liBesser ATTORNEY Patented Feb.10, 1925.

warren STATES HERMAN BESSER AND JESSE H. BESSER, OF ALPENA, MICHIGAN.

"EAL LYING MACHINE.

Application filed November 28, 1923. Serial No. 677,413.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HERMAN Bnssnn and Jesse H. Brissnn, residents ofthe city of Alpena, in the county of Alpena and State of Michigan, andcitizens of the United States, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Tamping Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in tamping machinesfor use in mixing concrete material, packing material in molds, in orecrushing and in kindred uses.

It is a special object of our machine to provide means for tamoingmaterial by the weight of a battery of tamping units which are permittedto fall together after release from the actuating means utilized toraise them intermittently against the force of gravity.

It is a further object of our invention to utilize the force of arotating member to lift the battery of tampers and permit their fallingtogether. Attempts have heretofore been made to actuate tampers in sets,and by the force of gravity too, but either the tampers have been liftedseparately, or means other than a revolving element has been used tolift the set together. o find there is a distinct advantage in thedescent of an entire battery at one time, resulting from their concertedaction upon the material to be crushed or molded, and also due to thefact that a rotating element is far more advantageous than are otherforms of actuating mechanism for intermittently lifting weights, as, forexample, endless belts.

It is a further object of our improved construction to provide, incombination with a series of reciprocating tampers in concerted action,a readily movable manually-operable or power-operated lever element toeffectively obstruct, though temporarily, the falling movement of thetampers, and if desired, secure them in such upper positionindefinitely, while being capable of removal from such locked positionby a thrust of the lever in the opposite direction.

It is an especially advantageous feature of our improved mechanism thatthe said cut-out lever mechanism may be actuated to tend to obstructsaid passage way of the tampers, even when the latter are not in theuppermost position, without injury of parts in the least, since thelever mechanism will harmlessly press against the tampers in theirvertical movement until opportunity is afforded said mechanism to crowdunder the supporting means for the tampers to lock the latter in theirextreme upper position. When the lever is released, the tamper liftingor actuating mechanism will again become active as before.

A still further object of our invent-ion is the provision of tamperlocking means which by manual actuation, not only looks the tampers ininoperative position, but also lifts the whole series to a height farout of reach of any rotating arms or bars used for mechanical actuationof the tampers, thus avoiding accidents and injury to actuatingmachinery, even when the operation of the latter is continuous.

With these and other objects of our i vention in view, as will appear asthe description proceeds, the same consists in the novel combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, recited in theappended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a front elevation of our machine;

Figure 2 is a side elevation showing the tamper bars in extreme upperposition and locked there;

Figure 8 is a similar view showing the tampers approaching the uppermostposition, and the locking mechanism just beginning to become effective,and

Figure i is a similar view showing the locking mechanism in inoperativeposition. and the other parts in normal. working operation.

In the drawings in which like reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, numeral '10 designatesthe main shaft mounted trans verse of the frame comprising verticalpieces 12 and cross bars 13. Fixed to said shaft is the belt pulley 11by which power is conveyed to the latter. It may be mounted on eitherend of the shaft, and is driven continuously while the machine isrunning. The tamper bars 15 are suitably guided in the frame forvertical reciprocation therein, and may have suitable feet 54 whosecharacter depends upon the kind of work to be done. Each tamper bar isprovided with a cross actuating block 31 secured thereto in a suitablemanner, as by riveting at 32. These blocks have parallel upper and loweredges, the upper being shorter than the lower. The end edges haveparallel lower portions substantially vertical when the machine is setup, but upper portions 37 inclined toward the tamper bar. One end ofeach cross block extends rear wardly and projects farther from itssupport than the forward end, to provide convenient edge at 33 forraising the tamper.

Mounted inside the frame and upon the main shaft are two eccentriccastings 16 spaced apart sufficiently to receive the tampers withintheir two planes. These castings are keyed to the shaft on which theyare carried, and comprise one arc 17 as a counterbalance, and oppositeit a projecting lip 18 having an aperture therethrough on the cord ofits are, and a pivot portion on which a tongue member 22 having a ringportion 21 is pivoted at 20, 1n the plane of the casting 16, so that thetongue may rock toward and from the fiattened edge 19 of the lip 18. Thelatter part is also apertured on a cord so that, when the tongue isswung into parallelism with the lip, the apertures will be in alinement.A bolt 23 having an angled head 28 is threaded loosely through the twoapertures, a coiled compression spring 24 encompassing the bolt betweenthe lip and tongue, and another similar spring 25 mounted on the boltbelow the lip. A washer 26 is pushed on the bolt over the end of thespring 25, and a key 27 inserted in the end of the bolt to lock theparts together.

The above-described structure is utilized to render a yielding thrust ofthe tamper bars in raising them, as well as a yielding reaction onrelease, and the manner of accomplishing this is as follows: A commontransverse. bar 29 for. actuating all the tampers is carried yieldinglyby the said castings 16, but not this bar 29, are passed through crossapertures in the said tongues 22 just rearwardly of the bolt 23, andsecured fixedly therein. As therefore said bar 29 encounters unusuallyheavy load or resistance, springs 24 will be compressed and yieldslightly to avoid too sudden On the other hand, when the rotation ofshaft 10 has continued to the point where the bar 29 has slipped outfrom under the edge 33 of the block 31, the force of spring 24 willreact to swing shoulders 22 and bar 29 away from lips 18, but springs 25are thereby compressed to avoid undue vibration of parts.

For temporarily locking the entire set of tampers in raised position,when for any reason the tamping operation is not desired for aninterval, we have provided a pivoted locking mechanism which will now be.described. Vertical bars 14 are provided at sides of the frame whichare parallel to the tamper bars and slightly forward of the latter. Onthese bars 14 are pivoted for rigidly. The endsfof rocking motiontherein lever members 42- having offset stub shafts 40. projectingthrough these bars 14 and having keys 58 securing them in place.Integral with levers 42 are ears 59, and said stub shafts, the hollowlug 41 being at an angle to the pivot ears. Transverse of the machine isa rock shaft 38 which is splined to 42, so that actuation of one of thelevers 42 by the manual lever 39 will also actuate the part 42 at theopposite side of the machine. Vithin the hollow lug 41 an arm 43 ispivoted on the bar 38 and limited in its rocking movement by theenlarged angular opening in the said lug, and rocking on the same bar isa pair of arms 44 and 64 bearing at the extremity of 64 and midwayof 44,a cross bar 51 which may engage the forward ends of the blocks 31beneath the lower edges 34 thereof. The arm 44 is extended to form aprojection 48 having a pin 49 to which an extension spring 50 isattached and fixed at its oppositeend to the end of the arm 43. Atapoint just forward of the bar 51 of the arm 44 is an ear having a pin47 to which the extension spring 53 is connected at one end, and theother end connected to a pin 52 on the frame piece 12. The force of thespring 53 is therefore exerted to swing the arm 44, and with it arm 64,on its fulcrum 38, rearwardly against the tampers until the bar 51contacts their forward edges. If at the time the bar 51 reaches thetampers, the blocks 3-1 are beneath the bar, the next upward stroke ofthe tampers will cause the inclined edges 37 to contact the bar 51 andswing the same forwardly until the blocks have passed it, when the barwill swing under the blocks by the and prevent falling of the tamperswhen they are released by the bar 29.

The two springs 50 and 53 have equal strength, but it. will be seen thatthe latter acts at a mechanical disadvantage with respect to the spring50, since is attachedto arm 44 nearer its fulcrum, and therefore itsforce will be overcome by spring 50 when arm 43 is rocked on its pivot38. The latter condition arises when force is manually applied to thelever 39 which, being integral with 41, will rock the latter forward onits pivot 40, when 39 is forced backward. It

will thus be seen that when arm 39- is moved forward, 43 movesrearwardly and upwardly to release spring 50, since t-hearm 43 is thenreleased by 41, thus permitting spring 53 to draw the. arms 44, 64,. andthe bar 51 carried thereby, rearwardly against the tampers, as abovedescribed. A sleeve 45 is made integral with arms 44 and 64 to receivethe end of the rod or bar 51:, and a sleeve 46 is also secured to thelower end of 44 and. of 64 for receiving the. shaft 38 therein andstrengthening the opening of force of said spring,

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these arms which are to rock upon shaft 38. Lug 41 is provided with aforward opening to permit 43 to be released, but has a positive rearwall 60 by which forward movement of 41 carries 43 with it.

Lever 39 is bent outwardly and clownwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, and abar 56 is secured to the frame and provided with notches 57 to receivetherein the lever at opposite positions of its swing, to provide asecure hold of the bar 51 in either locking or releasing position.

Various minor details of construction will be apparent from thedrawings. The shaft .10 is mounted in bearings 011 suitable cross bars13, the tamper bars 15 may be guided in slots and 36 of bars 13. Thelower ends of the bars 14 are fixed to the front ends of suitable framebars that are mounted for slight pivotal movement in a vertical plane,so that by the provision of nuts on said bars 14 bearing against a fixedpart the bars may be adjusted up and down in the frame. Since the shaftsare pivoted in bars 14, vertical adjustment of the latter will determinehow high the locking bar 51 may raise the tamper bars. These nuts arepreferably adjusted so that when the tamper bars are at their extremeupper position, the bar 29 may swing in with positive clearance of theedges 33; and yet when the tampers are unlocked, they will permit thebar 51 to enter beneath the forward end of the edges 34 just as the bar29 is leaving edges 33. Further throw of the parts 39, 42, 44 and 51will then raise the tampers, to position blocks 31 out of reach of thebar 29.

Operation Assuming that the parts are in position as shown in Fig. 4,that the power shaft 10 is rotating continuously, that suitable materialis provided beneath the tamper feet 54, and that it is desired to applypressure or crushing force to said material; as the shaft 10 is rotatedb pulley 11, bar 29 strikes the edges 13 of the several blocks 31, sincethe shaft is rotating in a clockwise direction as shown in such view,raising all the tampers together to the position shown in Fig. 3, afterwhich the said bar'29 slides out from under the blocks which with thetampers 15 thereupon fall together, so that the feet 54 strike thematerial to be operated upon. This operation continues, the tampersrising and falling at each rotation of the shaft, as long as the powershaft revolves and the locking mechanism is not set to obstruct thefalling of the tampers.

When it is desired to lock the tampers in inactive position, the leverarm 39 is moved manually forward from its position in Figs. 3 and 4 tothat in Fig. 2. Such movement does not positively force the arms 44 and64 with bar 51 rearwardly, but does release the same, which are looselypivoted upon the bar 38, so that spring may draw them towards thetampers without exerting a positive jarring action upon the lever 39which might be injurious to the operatives arm. When the bar 51approaches the tampers, if the blocks 31 are up and the forward ends ofthe edges 34 are high enough to permit the said bar to enter under thesame, the bar will finally take a position as shown in Fig. 3 of thedrawings, when a further forward thrust of the lever 39 will positivelyrock the bar 38 with the parts 42 acting as cranks about'the shafts 40,as fulcra, and thereby force arms 44 and 64 upwardly, the spring 53meanwhile causing the bar 51 to cling to the forward edges of thetampers, and lift the blocks 31 still higher to the extreme position asshown in Fig. There they will remain'until the lever 39 is thrustrearwardly to lower the arms and thereby the blocks when they will bebrought again within the reach of the rotating bar 29, and the poundingaction of the tampers then resumed.

It will be noted that'spring connects movable parts, while springconnects the movable arm 44 with a fixed part of the frame. The lever 49controls lug 41 positively and directly while arm 43 is controlled bythe lug 41 within certain limits but has a large idle motion within thelimits of the latter. The actuation of lever 39 will therefore control43 and by the latter exerting apulling force on 44, will finallyovercome the force of spring 53 as above stated.

Another valuable result is attained by our structure arising from thefact that the parts 40, 38 and 51 are almost in alinement in theirrelative position as shown in Fig. 2,, and parts 40, 38 and 43 insubstantial alinement in Figs. 3 and 4. First, when the tamper bars arelocked in the highest position as shown in Fig. 2, the parts are in asubstantially neutral position. lVhile it is true that the fulcrum 38 ofthe parts 42, and 44 (referring now to one side only of the machine asshown in Fig. 2), is slightly out of alinement with 51 and 40, the forceexerted by spring 53, tends sufficiently to counteract the force whichthe weight of the tampers on the bar 51 exerts, since 47, 51 and 52 arenot quite in alinement, and as a result, the lever 39 is approximatelyneutral; and second when the bar 51 is withdrawn to the position shownin Fig. 4, the force of the spring 53 (tending to urge bar 51 towardsthe tamper bars) is partly neutralized by the weight of the parts 38,41, 42, 43 and 44, since all may be considered as swinging upon thepivot 40, and therefore a substantially neutral position exists in theunlocked relation of the lever. From these arrangements easymanipulation of the locking mechanism is effected which would nototherwise be practicable.

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Although these conditions exist as above stated, notches 57 are providedin the bar 56 to receive the lever 39 therein to positively hold thelatter in either extreme position.

While the tamper bars may be guided in slots in the frame, other guidingmeans may be provided, as desired. T he belt pulley 11 may be mountedupon either end. of the shaft 10, as may be most convenient. Also, thelevers 42 may be integral with it), the latter swinging in apertures inthe frame bars 1a; or the parts 40 could evidently be made integral witha frame part and the levers l2 provided with sleeves on their lowerends, pivoted on 40, it being only essential that the lever 39 and lugll shah positively operate one of the levers 42. All these are matters.of detail only, and it is understood that minor changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of our invention as claimed.

hat we claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patentis:

1. A tamping machine comprising a frame, tamping bars mounted forvertical reciprocation in said frame, transverse blocks fixed upon therespective tamper bars having their endsprojecting forwardlyandrearwardly thereof, means for contacting said blocks and therebyintermittently raising the tamper bars and releasing them to permit thelatter to fall by gravity, a transverse bar mounted in said frame forswinging movement toward and from said tamper bars and slidablevertically, so that its extreme upward throw will contact said blocksand lift them beyond the reach of said raising means, and whoseoutwardly swung position will be out of reach of the said blocks as thetampers rise and fall and manually-actuated means for actuating saidtransverse bar.

2. A. tamping machine comprising a supporting frame, tamping barsreciprocably mounted therein, a power shaft journalled transverselythereof, transverse members mounted in parallelism on said shaft andhaving offset portions thereon, arms pivoted on said members, the armsand said portions havingperforations in alinement in certain positionsof said arms, bolts secured on said arms and portions for movementtherethrough, compression springs between said arms and perforations,and other springs securedbetween the external surface of said portionsand the ends of the bolts, a trans verse bar carried by said armsparallel to said shaft, and transverse blocks fixed upon the respectivetamper bars and normally in the path of transit of said transverse barabout the shaft, whereby the rotation of said shaft will intermittentlyraise the several tamper bars and release them to permit them to fall bygravity.

3. A tamping machine comprising a 1, ease-9a frame, tamping bars mountedside by side for vertical reciprocation in said frame, transverseblocksfixed upon the respective tamper bar s andhaving their ends projectingforwardly and rearwardly thereof, -means rearwardly ofsaid tamper barsfor contacting the rear ends of said blocks and thereby intermittentlyraising and releasing the tamper bars to permit the latter to fall bygravity, a transverse bar mounted in said frame forwardly of the tamperbars for swinging movement toward and from said tamper bars and slidablevertically, so that its extreme upward throw will contact the forwardends of said blocks and lift them beyond the-reach of said raisin means,and whose outwardly swung position will be out of reach of the saidblocks as the tamper-s rise and fall, and manually-actuated means foractuating said transverse bar.

4. A tamping machine comprising a frame, tamping bars mounted forvertical reciprocation in said frame, a power shaft journalled upon andtransversely of said frame, means for rotating said shaft, transverseblocks fixed upon the respective tamper bars having ends projectingforwardly and rearwardly thereof, means rotating with said shaft andeccentrica-lly thereof for contacting said blocks at each rotation tointermittently raise the several tamperbars and release them to permitthe latter to fall by gravity, a transverse bar mounted in said framefor swinging movement toward and from said bars and slidable vertically,so that its extreme upward throw will contact said blocks and lift thembeyond the reach of said raising means, and whoseoutwardly swungposition will be out of reach of the said blocks as thetampers rise andfall, and manuallyaetuated means for actuating said transverse bar.

5. A tamping machine comprising a supporting frame, tamping bars mountedto vertically reciprocate in said frame, a power shaft journalledtransverse of said frame, eccentric support-meanscarried by said shaftand rotating therewith, a pair of members pivoted upon said supportingmeans, abar connecting said members and parallel with said shaft, saidmembers being movable toward and away from other portions of saidsupporting means, compression springs guided betweensaid pivoted memherand saidpor-tions, transverse blocks fixed upon the respective tamperbars and project ing forwardly and rearw-ardly thereof, the forward endsbeing normally in the path of transit of said transverse bar about theshaft, whereby the rotation of the latterwill intermittently raise theseveral tamper bars and release them to permit their falling by gravity,and manually-actuated means on the side of said tampers opposite fromsaid transverse bar for temporarily rendering the IOU lifting action ofsaid bar ineffective though the power shaft rotate continuously.

6. A tamping machine comprising a supporting frame, tamping bars mountedto reciprocate vertically in said frame, a power shaft journalledtransverse of said frame, transverse plates mounted on said shaft inparallelism and having offset portionsthereon, pivoted arms fulcrumed onsaid plates and adapted to rock toward and away from said portions, thelatter and said arms having perforations which are in alinement incertain positions of said arms, bolts inserted through said alinedperforations and having heads outside of said arms and projecting belowsaid offset portions, coiled compression springs encircling said boltsbetween said arm and portions, discs secured on said. bolt ends: bycotter-pins and spaced from said portions, coil springs on said boltends between said portions and said discs, a t-ransverse bar carried bysaid arms parallel with said shaft, and transverse blocks fixed upon therespective tamper bars and normally in the path of transit of saidtransverse bar about the shaft, whereby the rotation of said shaft willintermittently raise the several tamper bars and release them to permitthem to fall by gravity.

7. A tamping machine comprising a frame, tamping bars mounted tovertically reciprocate'in said frame, a power shaft journalledtransverse upon. said frame, a transverse bar carried eccentrically uponand parallel to said shaft but yieldingly thereto, transverse blocksfixed upon the respective tamper bars and normally in the path oftransit of said transverse bar about the shaft, whereby the rotation ofsaid shaft will intermittently raise the several tamper bars and releasethem to permit them to fall by gravity, and manually-actuate il means onthe opposite side of said tamprs from said transverse bar fortemporarily rendering the lifting action of said bar ineffective, thoughthe shaft rotate continuously.

8. A tamping machine comprising a frame, tamping bars mounted tovertically reciprocate in said frame, a power shaft journalledtransverse upon said frame, eccentric supporting means carried by saidshaft and rotating therewith, apair of members pivoted upon saidsupporting means in a line parallel with said shaft and movable towardand away from other portions of said supporting means, compressionsprings guided between said pivoted members and 'said portions, atransverse bar carried by said supporting meansparallel to said shaft,and transverse blocks fixed upon the respective tamper bars and nrmallyin the path of transit of said transverse bar about the shaft, wherebythe rotation of said shaft will intermittently raise lower edges of saidblocks to retain the several tamper bars and release them to permit themto fall by gravity.

9. A tamping machine comprising a frame, tamper bars mounted forvertical reciprocation in said frame, transverse blocks fixed upon therespective tamper bars having their ends projecting forwardly andrearwardly thereof, means for contacting said blocks and therebyintermittently rai ing the tamper bars, and releasing them to permit thelatter to fall by gravity, transverse bar mounted for swinging movementin said frame toward and from the tamper bars and parallel with thepower shaft, means to actuate said transverse bar to rock into contactwith said tamper bars and under said blocks, and subsequently .to liftthe blocks and tampers vertically out of reach of said intermittentraising means.

10. A tamping machine comprising a supporting frame, tamper bars mountedin. said frame for reciprocation in substantial ly the same plane, meansfor actuating said tamping bars intermittently, and means fortemporarily holding the latter in raised position, including blocksfixed on the several bars and projecting therefrom, a pair ofverticalframe bars suspended from the upper parts of the frame at its ends, andmeans for adjusting the longitudinal position of said frame bars,locking means pivoted upon said adjustable bars for'rocking forwardlyand rearwardly thereon towards and from said tamper bars, for engagingthe the same and their tamper bars in raised position, andmanually-operated means for actuating said locking means.

11. A tamping machine comprising a supporting frame, tamper bars mountedin said frame for reciprocation in substantially the same plane, meansfor actuating said tamping bars intermittently, and means fortemporarily holding the latter in raised position, including blocksfixed on the several bars and projecting forwardly thereof, a crankmechanism mounted in said frame for rocking motion toward and from saidtamper bars, a transverse bar mounted eccent-rically on said crankmechanism for engaging said blocks and preventing their descent, a pairof extension springs connected with said transverse bar, one extendingrearwardly and connected to a frame part and tending normally to urgesaid transverse bar towards said tamper bars,

and the other extending forwardly and opposing said first spring butexerting a greater force than the first, a rock arm pivoted in saidcrank mechanism transversely of said bar, said crank mechanism havingmeans for controlling said rock arm within certain limits, the forwardlyextending spring being connected to the end of said rock arm andmanually operated actuating said rock shaft means foractuating saidcrank mechanism.

12. A tamping machine comprising a supporting frame, tamper bars mountedfor vertical reciprocation in said frame, a power shaftjournalled; uponand transversely of said frame, means for rotating said shaft,transverse blocks fixed upon the respective tamper bars and having endsprojecting forwardly and rearwardly thereof, means rotating with saidshaft and eccentrically thereof for contacting said blocks at eachrotation to intermittently raise the several tamper bars and releasethemto permit the latter to fall by gravity, means for lifting said tamperbars beyond the reach of said intermittently raising means, including arock shaft journalled transverse of said frame for movement toward andfrom said tamper bars, arms loosely pivoted on said rockshaft, a;transverse bar mounted on the en-dsof said pivoted arms and adaptedtoengage the lower-edges of said blocks, spring means for urging said bartoward said tampingbars, and manually operated means for actuating saidrock shaft.

13. A tamping maehine comprising a supporting frame, tamper bars mountedfor verticalreciprocation in. said f,r an 1e, a power shaft journalled;11:1 .01}: and transverselyof said frame, means for.- rotating saidshaft, transverse blocks lined upon the respective tamperbarsandhavingends projecting forwardly and rearwaiqd ly thereof, meansrotating with said shaft and eccentrically thereof forcontacting saidblocks at each rotation to intermittently raise the several tamperbarsand releasethem to permit the latter to fall by gravity, means forlifting said tamper bars beyond the reach of said intermittently;actuatingv means, including a rock shaft jounnalljed transverse of saidframe for movement toward and fromsaid tamper bars, arms loosely pivotedon said rock shaft, atransverse barmounted on the ends, of said pivotedarms and adapted to engage the lower edgesof saidblocks, spring meansfor urging-said ,bartoward said tamping bars, a rocking arm pivoted uponsaid rock shaft, yielding means connected with said rocking arm forcontrolling said spring means, and manually-operated means for andcontrolling said rock arm on its. pivot.

let, A, tamping-maehine comprising a supp cn t1 1g-- frame, tamp-ingbars mounted for vertical reciprocation in said frame, means forintermittently raisin-g said bars and re leasingthem to permit theirfall by gravity, means for lifting said tamper bars. beyond the reach ofsaid intermittentactuating means-includ-ing blocks on saidbarsprojectingforwardly thereof, a rock shaft journalledeccentrically transverse ofsaid frame for, movement toward and, from said tamper bars, arms looselypivoted onsaid rock shaft,

ing. their ends projecting a transversebar mounted on the ends ofv saidpivoted arms and adapted to engage the lower edges. of said blocks, oneof said pivoted arms-having a pair of extensible springs connectedtherewith, one of said springs extending rearwardly and connected to aframe part and tending to normally urge said bar toward said tampingbars, and the other extending forwardly and opposing said first springbut exerting a greater force than the-first, a rock arm pivoted uponsaid rock shaft, means keyed to the latter for controlling said rock armwithin certain limits, the forwardly extending spring being connected tothe. end of said rock arm and manually operated means for actuating saidrock shaft.

15. A tamping'machine comprising a supporting frame, tamper bars mountedin said frame for reciprocationv in substantially the same plane, meansfor actuatingsaid. tamper bars, and means for temporarily holdingthelatter in raised position including blocks fixed on the several bars andprojecting forwardly thereof, a rock shaft journalled eccentricallytransverse of said framefor movement toward and from said tamper bars,arms of unequal: length. loosely pivoted on said rock shaft, atransverse bar mounted on the endof' the shorter arm and on themid-length of. the longer, and adapted to engage the lower edges of saidblocks the end of the longer arm having: a pair of extension springsconnected therewith, one ex tending from a point thereof spaced from itsend, rearwardly and connected to a frame part and tending to normallyurge said bar toward said t-amping bars, and the other eX- tendingforwardly from its extreme end and opposing the first, arock arm pivotedupon said: rock shaftat its end adjacentthe longer of said. arms, meanskeyed to the latter for controlling said rock arm within certain limits,the forwardly extending spring be ing connected to the end of said rockarm, and. manually operated means for actuating said rock shaft. 7

16. A tamping machine frame, tamper bars mounted for verticalreciprocation in saith frame, transverse blocks fixed upon therespective tamper bars havfolfwardly and rearwardly thereof, means forcontacting therean ends of said blocks and thereby-iii termittently.raising the tamper bars and releasing them to permit the latter to fallby gravity, atransverse bar mounted for-swinging: movement in said frametoward and from the tamper bars and in parallelism with the power shaftmeans to actuatesaid transverse bar-to rock into contact with saidtamper bars and under the forward ends of, said. blocks the saidtransverse bar being also. movable vertically, and means for ac tuatingsaid transverse bar to hold the said comprising a tamper bars in theirraised position by engaging their said blocks, and subsequently to liftthe blocks and tampers vertically out of reach of said intermittentraising means.

17. A tamping machine comprising a supporting frame, tamper bars mountedin said frame for reciprocation in substantially the same plane, meansfor actuating said tamper bars intermittently to move them in onedirection, and means for temporarily holding them in said movedposition, including blocks fixed on the several bars and projectingtherefrom, a pair of vertical frame bars suspended from the upper partsof the ends of the frame, screw means in threaded connection with saidsuspended bars and in contact with frame parts for adjusting thelongitudinal position of said suspended bars, locking means pivoted uponsaid adjustable bars for rocking thereon forwardly and rearwardly towardand from said tamper bars for engaging said blocks in its positionadjacent the latter to retain the same and their tamper bars in a commonlongitudinal position, spring means tending to rock said pivoted lockingmeans toward the tamper bars, and manually-operated means for actuatingsaid looking means to move the blocks and tamper bars in a directionlongitudinal of the latter.

18. Mechanism for raising and holding in raised position a series ofelongated bars movable in a common plane and having transverse blocksfixed upon each of said bars and having their ends projecting from thebars, comprising a supporting frame, a crank mechanism mounted in saidframe for rocking motion toward and from said bars, a transverse barmounted eccentrically on said crank mechanism for rocking molion thereonfor engaging in its rearmost throw the lower edges of said blocks andpreventing their descent, yielding means for urging said transverse bartowards said series of bars, a rock arm pivoted on said crank mechanismin a plane transverse of said transverse bar, means for positivelyactuating said crank mechanism and for limiting the movement of saidrock arm on its pivot, spring means for connecting said rock arm andsaid transverse bar tending to withdraw said transverse bar from saidseries of bars, a manually-operated lever for actuating said crankactuating means, the said rock arm, transverse bar and spring meansbeing so mounted relatively to each other that the said manual leverwill be in neutral positionboth when the transverse bar is in itslocking position and when in its withdrawn or idle position.

19. Mechanism for raising and holding in their raised position. a seriesof elongated bars movable in a common plane and having transverse blocksfixed upon each of said bars with their ends projecting therefrom,comprising a supporting frame, a crank mechanism mounted in said framefor rocking motion toward and from said bars, a transverse bar mountedeccentrically on said crank mechanism for rocking motion thereon forengaging in its rearmost throw the lower edges of said blocks andpreventing their descent, a pair of extension springs connected withsaid transverse bar and extending in opposite directions therefrom tocounteract each other, and one of them being connected to a frame part,a rock arm pivoted in said crank mechanism transversely of saidtransverse bar and said crank mechanism having means for controlling themovement of said rock arm within certain limits, the other spring beingconnected to said rock arm and exerting a greater force than the first,the frameconnected spring tending to normally urge said transverse bartowards the said series of bars, and manually-operated means foractuating said crank mechanism to release the said rock arm and therebythe stronger spring whereby the said transverse bar contacts the seriesof bars, and thereafter lifts said transverse bar and therewith saidblocks and connected parts to a higher position.

20. A tamping machine comprising a supporting frame, tamper bars mountedin said frame for reciprocation in substantially the same plane, meansfor actuating said tamper bars, and means for temporarily holding thelatter in raised position, including blocks fixed on the several barsand projecting forwardly thereof, a rock shaft journalled eccentricallytransverse of said frame for movement toward and from said tamper bars,arms loosely pivoted on said rock shaft, a transverse bar mounted on theends of said pivoted arms and adapted to engage the forward edges ofsaid tamper bars and the lower edges of said blocks, one of said pivotedarms having a pair of extension springs connected therewith, oneextending rearwardly and connected to a frame part, and the otherextending forwardly and opposing the first, a rock arm pivoted upon saidrock shaft adjacent the pivoted arm having spring connections, amanuallyoperated lever for actuating said rock shaft, a lug integralwith said lever and having an open face limited in lateral extent byprojecting shoulders between which said pivoted rock arm may move uponthe rock shaft within certain limits, the forwardly-extending springbeing connected to the end of said rock arm, and a frame bar havingnotches therein for positively locking said lever in either of itsextreme positions.

21. A tamping machine comprising a su ortin frame tam er bars mountedfor vertical reciprocation in said frame, a power shaft Journalled uponand, transversely of said; frame means for rotating said shaft,

transverse blocks; fixed upon the respective to intern iittently raisethe several tamper bars and release them to permit the latter to fall bygravity, means. for preventing temporarily the descent of said; tamperbars, including a rock shaft journalledtransverse ofsaid frame formovement toward; and from saidtamper bars, arms loosely pivoted on saidrook shaft, a transverse bar mounted on the. ends of said pivoted armsand adapted to engage the lower edges of said blocks to retain thelatter and their tamper bars at the height to Which saideccentricallyq'otating means may raise them, spring means: for urgingsaid; transverse bar into contact ith the forward edges of said tamperbars, and manually-operated means for actuating said rock shaftand'thereby said loosely-pivoted arms to lift the said transverse. barand with it said blocks and tamper bars, to a position above the highestpoint and; positively out of reach of said eccentrically-mountedrotating means. 7

Infestimony whereof we hereunto afiix our signatures.

* HERMAN BESSER. JESSE H. BESSER.

